Jackson County football uses 7-on-7 competitions for growth, refinement

Cy Brown

Monday

Jun 24, 2013 at 8:59 PM

Summer workouts can be monotonous with the repetition of conditioning drills.

But Jackson County, like many high schools throughout the country, have found a way to keep players interested during summer break by competing in 7-on-7 tournaments.

"The kids get tired of coming out here and going against themselves every day and they get tired of doing the same drills every day," Jackson County coach Benji Harrison said. "But when you see a different color lined up against you, that gets them going."

Much like AAU basketball or travel baseball teams, 7-on-7 camps and competitions - which pit a quarterback, running back and group of receivers against linebackers and defensive backs - allow football teams a chance to hone its skills and compete during the offseason.

So far this summer, Jackson County has competed in Georgia's Mark Richt Camp and a tournament organized by Jefferson. Last summer was the first time Jackson County had ever competed in 7-on-7's.

"It's pretty cool seeing them this year compared to last year, now that they've done that kind of thing before," Harrison said. "We're competing pretty well during the summer. We've done pretty well in both tournaments."

The 7-on-7 camps were something Harrison planned to have his team attend since being hired as Jackson County's head coach in the spring of 2012. The competitions are almost a necessity for a pass heavy, spread offense like the one Jackson County runs.

"For us it's huge, because it is so much about what we do. We are going to throw the football," Harrison said. "It's not like we go to 7-on-7's and put in stuff we're not going to do. We're getting a great opportunity to put in the stuff that hopefully will be successful for us on Friday nights."

It seems last year's offseason preparations and new offense have worked as Jackson County finished 6-5 and made the playoffs for the first time in 20 years, which Harrison believes has helped his players commit to their offseason workout regimen.

"I think because we did have success there's been a lot more buy-in from the kids," Harrison said.

"So hopefully we've created a buzz and it will carry on into the summer."

"If you look at us last season, it's obvious the 7-on-7 helped us because we did none of that the year before," junior quarterback Jacob Lewis said.

Jackson County's offense may be somewhat hampered this year since it is replacing four out of five offensive lineman. There should still be fireworks, though, as it returns its entire receiving corp, including Athens Banner-Herald All-Northeast Georgia and Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-Class AAA selection Xavier Harper.

In his first season in the new spread offense, Harper, a senior, caught 82 passes for 1,185 yards and 10 touchdowns. He said the players have been committed to improving this offseason.

"So far the workouts have been really hard," Harper said. "Coach Harrison and his staff are really committed to football, so every day we've been working real hard and trying to get better for next season."

With one summer of 7-on-7's under their belt, Harrison said the Jackson County players are ready to compete for tournament honors this summer.

"Our kids now have a different expectation when they go. Last year it was about learning what to do. This year it's about competing," Harrison said. "When we go to these things we want to teach our kids how to compete every game."

Jacob Lewis said the competition keeps him motivated during the long offseason.

"It motivates me, because I want to be perfect," he said. "When I go to the 7-on-7's I want to win all of them. I just like to compete like that."

Harper said the best part is seeing more difficult competition and showing the team how hard it has to work to reach that level.

"It gives us a better feel of what next level play is and what next level players are like," Harper said. "It shows us, as a team, how hard we have to work to beat teams like that and make it easier to beat the teams that are in our region."

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